NYU Global Buddies: Fostering International Friendships

NYU Global Buddies brings together students from 30 countries who represent each of NYU’s schools. Run by the Office of Global Programs, the Office of Global Services, and Center for Student Life, program administrators host cultural events and citywide excursions that aim to foster cross-cultural dialogue and friendships among students from different backgrounds.

Each semester begins with an event where administrators place students in small groups based on interests, schools, and majors. These groups stick together throughout the semester. “Instead of coming into a room with 80 other students that you will eventually meet during the duration of the program, you can concentrate on making friends with the eight to ten people in your group,” says Payal Batra, a study away administrator who helps coordinate NYU Global Buddies.

Once students meet their groups, they participate in a listening lab activity (while digging into free food, of course!). “It was amazing,” says Payal. “Students talked a lot about cross-cultural communication and cultural humility. We emphasize to students that everybody’s culture is different. What matters is respecting each other’s cultures and countries of origin.” 

The rest of the semester includes a mix of cultural and just-for-fun activities from international game nights and arts and crafts sessions to bowling excursions and escape rooms. “My favorite event was a painting night where our group did portraits of each other,” says Tyler Rockwell, a first-year student studying Film and Television at NYU Tisch. “Each minute, we passed the portraits to the next person, until everyone had worked on yours. Some came out better than others, but it was a great bonding experience.”

One of the main goals of NYU Global Buddies is to learn the perspectives of peers with diverse life experiences. Tyler, who was born in London and raised in the United States, joined the program for the chance to meet people from other cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds, especially as he considers adding a double major in International Relations. 

“There is great value in recognizing that your outlook is not the only one nor the supreme one,” he says. “It’s important to learn how to be comfortable surrounded by people who see things differently.”

For international students, Global Buddies can help with the adjustment to life in the United States. It provides opportunities to get to know domestic students and dive into American culture through casual conversations and bonding activities. “It’s a mutually beneficial process, because for me, as an international student, I really want to explore how it feels to be a native student,” says Harrison Gao, a junior from China who is majoring in Computer Science at the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.